


The Why of Nyeh

by AngeliaDark



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Post-Pacifist Route, Some Romance, just something silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-09
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-06-01 01:17:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6495148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngeliaDark/pseuds/AngeliaDark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Papyrus has always had his habit of 'nyeh', but what if Sans found that there was a deeper meaning behind it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Why of Nyeh

**Author's Note:**

> I figured that anyone who follows my Underfell AU fics need something in their lives to get 'Hello Darkness My Old Friend' out of their heads, so here's something cute and silly.

If there was one thing Sans was good at, it was picking up small details about his life, and the lives of those around him; little constants that he enjoyed taking note of.

For instance, Grillby snorted whenever he laughed (which was rarely and for that very reason).

Undyne twirls spears, spoons, pens, what-have-you when she's not doing anything else with them.

Alphys slips into weeb lingo when she works on projects.

And Papyrus?  Papyrus had 'nyeh'.

Sans first noticed it when Papyrus was around fourteen, and began incorporating it into his laughter, exclamations of joy, fear, or exuberance, or just as a conversation filler.  After awhile, it just became normalized behavior, and Sans didn't think twice about it.  Papyrus was a grab-bag of quirks, be it spaghetti, his obsession with robots, or preference for wearing shoes in the house; what was another quirk to add onto it?

So it was nothing Sans concerned himself with for the most part, and he didn't think much more about it for the longest time.

When everyone was free from the Underground and began to make their lives anew on the Surface, that was when Sans began noticing it again.  The 'nyehs' became a little louder and more frequent, and often out of nowhere.  The quirk seemed to shift into tic category, especially on a day when he and Sans were out to lunch and in the middle of eating, Papyrus let out a 'nyeh', looked around as though expecting something, and then resumed his eating.

Even by Sans's standards of weird, THAT was WEIRD.  He wanted to question Papyrus about it, but he was pretty sure Papyrus didn't even consciously know why he was doing it either.  So he let it go and resumed their day out, counting five more 'nyehs' before they headed home.

Over the next couple of months, Sans noticed that Papyrus almost seemed depressed sometimes, especially on days when he went out and the 'nyehs' became more frequent.  Contrary to the depression, Papyrus seemed to be enjoying his new life up on the Surface, so it baffled Sans as to why a social creature like Papyrus would be depressed about being out and about.

It wasn't until Christmas that he got his answer.

Christmastime seemed to be an extra depressive stressful time for Papyrus, when his 'nyehs' came in record frequency.  Sans was starting to think that the 'nyehs' were an expression of anxiety, and asked Papyrus if he wanted to skip the Christmas party.  Papyrus shot that idea down, having already spent three hours wrapping all of the gifts and was ANTICIPATING the time spent with his friends.  So they went to Asgore's place, exchanged pleasantries, and Sans beelined for the eggnog, feeling he deserved a drink after the past few weeks of worrying over Papyrus.

Funny whom he should meet at the eggnog bowl was Mettaton, who was adding a little more 'Christmas cheer' from a small flask into his cup of eggnog.  "Rough week?" Sans asked, ladling some into his own cup.  Mettaton drained his cup, huffing.

"Darling, you don't know the HALF of it," he sighed dramatically.  "If I have to get one more agent telling me to 'flip my image', I'm going to flip my sh--"

"Nyeh!"

Sans sighed into his cup at hearing Papyrus's 'nyeh' from across the house, wondering of the anxiety was kicking in.  He was about to put his cup down and go talk to Papyrus when he noticed Mettaton's expression and body language.  The mech's body was tense, leaning forward like he was trying to hear something from far away, pink eyes glowing brighter.  "Ehh....Mettaton?" he asked.  "...you feelin' okay, buddy?"

"....oh YES."

Sans blinked; not at the odd response, but at the WAY Mettaton said it.  It was low and almost guttural with a purring undertone that nearly made Sans's spine shiver.  "Uhh...what was...?"  He was interrupted by another 'nyeh' from Papyrus, and further delayed a reaction when Mettaton nearly pushed past him in the direction of the 'nyeh' with an 'oh yes' of his own in response.  "...seriously, what the actual hell...?"

"Was that Papyrus I heard?"

Sans looked up, seeing Asgore fetching a cup of eggnog for himself, craning his neck to try to spot the younger Skeleton in mention.  Sans blinked again, scratching his skull.  "....uh, yeah," he replied.  "Yeah, he's been on a roll with that for awhile now."

"Hm," Asgore replied noncommittally.  "Odd use of a mating call, but I suppose whatever works."

Sans froze.  "...mating call?" he asked, his voice flat.  Asgore nodded.

"Yes, it varies from Monster to Monster," he replied, sipping his drink, glancing up and blushing through his fur.  "Oh golly--Papyrus, Mettaton, there are children here!"

Sans whipped around, almost panicking when he saw Papyrus pinning Mettaton to the wall under the mistletoe and Mettaton's hands going under Papyrus's sweater.  "OH YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!"

* * *

 

Sans had wedged himself between Papyrus and Mettaton for the rest of the evening, but Toriel was right about one thing--there was nothing he could do about it when another Monster answers his brother's mating call.

So apparently, Papyrus had been crooning out mating calls since he was fourteen, and being around more people on the Surface only intensified his calling.  He was getting depressed that no one was answering, and of all Monsters, it was METTATON who responded to the call and replied with one of his own.

Dear gods, the thought of Mettaton's signature 'OH YES' being a MATING CALL all that time was so damn creepy.

Still not as creepy as Papyrus apparently being mate-ready at fourteen.

Or that apparently HIS mating call was puns.

Still, he thought as he peek out the window and watched Papyrus and Mettaton leave for a date before smiling over at Toriel making coffee, he supposed Papyrus deserved to know how nice it felt to have a call reciprocated.


End file.
